DANBURY, CT – Harley-Davidson of Danbury is engaging more in “forward planning” than aggressively seeking to sell after nearly 30 years in operation, dealership co-owner Al Lucchino said today. His assessment was in response to a story earlier this week by Hearst Newspapers in Connecticut that reported that the business and property at 51 Federal Road are for sale for $19.5 million.
“I’ve got a valuable piece of property here and we’ve been receiving unsolicited offers. It’s really nothing more than that,” Lucchino told RIDE-CT. “Obviously, everyone has to think to the future. There’s nothing imminent.”
Hearst’s story was based on a real estate listing on LoopNet that lists the 27,776-square-foot Harley-Davidson and CF Moto store on one acre and an adjoining 3/4-acre rental property with 4,960-square-foot building at 49 Federal Road that has Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a longterm tenant.
The listing says that the asking price includes current motorcycle inventory valued at $3.85 million. It also notes that an ownership transfer must be approved by Harley-Davidson.
“It’s just routine forward planing and forward thinking on our part,” said Lucchino said of the “For Sale” notice. “We love what we do. We love Harley-Davidson. We love the customers, but I also think we know we won’t be around for another 30 years. That’s just part of being human.”
Lucchino and his brother, Carl, bought Brewster Harley-Davidson in New York in the fall of 1994 and transported the dealership across the state line. Harley-Davidson of Danbury opened on Jan. 5, 1995. Harley-Davidson of Danbury is the only Harley-Davidson store in Fairfield County.
Other Harley-Davidson dealerships in the state have undergone ownership changes in recent years. Freedom Road Harley-Davidson replaced Brothers Harley-Davidson in Branford in May 2021, while Hartford Harley-Davidson replaced Gengras Harley-Davidson in East Hartford in June 2020.
TSI Harley-Davidson in Ellington became Old School Harley-Davidson in June 2019 and Yankee Harley-Davidson in Bristol got new owners in December 2017.